In the building across from the restaurant. In a dusty empty room, the eyes of the Demon Slayer Corps monitoring Akira were hidden.
Three Silver-ranked members were continuing their surveillance with tense expressions from their respective positions. Behind them, centered around a male non-ranked member, five Gold and Bronze-ranked members were anxiously waiting.
"Yamada, still no unusual signs?"
The male non-ranked member asked in a low voice. The male Silver-ranked member shook his head without taking his eyes off the telescope.
"None. He ate everything—steak, salad, wine. He even moved to a window seat to take direct sunlight… Not only is there no sign of his skin burning, but it actually has a glossy sheen."
"Damn it, is that related to demons? He just looks like a wealthy businessman."
One Bronze-ranked member grumbled.
"Shh! Watch your mouth. It's Iguro-sama's order. A flaw will definitely appear."
Then, the female Silver-ranked member watching through the telescope exclaimed softly.
"Huh? That woman… who is she?"
A woman was entering the restaurant entrance. It was Kanroji Mitsuri, with her cherry blossom-colored hair braided into two pigtails, wearing a Western-style dress with a deep chest cut.
When the VIP room door opened and Mitsuri entered, the British businessman's eyes widened.
"Oh! Akira, who is this beautiful lady?"
Akira stood up from his seat, took Mitsuri's hand, and gently kissed it.
"My wife, Mitsuri."
Mitsuri smiled shyly and greeted.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Mr. Akira's wife, Mitsuri Nagao."
Mitsuri greeted with fluent English learned from Akira, following Western etiquette with grace. She resembled a noble family's young lady.
She had become a demon by receiving Akira's blood, but thanks to receiving much denser blood than others, she overcame the sun. Especially due to her constitution, she could drink a large amount of sheep blood at once, which helped.
However, she couldn't fully eat human food, so aside from meat, vegetable-based foods were hard to digest. The only exception was sakura mochi, which she could eat well.
"Oh my god! You are so lucky to have such a beautiful wife!"
The British businessman was completely captivated by Mitsuri's beauty and charm. Despite being Japanese, Mitsuri's Western-like appearance and figure made her a considerable beauty even in his eyes.
In response, Akira smiled contentedly and signed the contract.
"Then, let's make sure to proceed with the canned business with this."
"Of course! Partner! I'm looking forward to doing business with Akatsuki!"
After successfully completing the contract, Akira and Mitsuri left the restaurant.
"Akira-san, well done! The contract went well, right?"
Mitsuri asked while linking arms with Akira.
"Yes. Thanks to you, the atmosphere was much better. Thank you, Mitsuri."
When Akira patted Mitsuri's head, she blushed with happiness.
"Then, shall we… go on a date? It's been a while since we explored Asakusa."
At Akira's suggestion, Mitsuri's eyes widened brightly.
"Yes! I'd love to! I want to eat sakura mochi and look at pretty hair accessories!"
The two held hands tightly and headed out into the streets of Asakusa.
The Demon Slayer members surveilling Akira and Mitsuri's date had complex feelings.
"…Those two, they look too well-matched, don't they? They seem like an ordinary couple."
The female Silver-ranked member muttered bitterly.
"That woman isn't a demon, right? She's fine in sunlight…."
The Gold-ranked female member observed Mitsuri with suspicious eyes, but no matter how she looked, she seemed human, and the Kasugai crows didn't seem to sense anything.
The two wandered around the shopping district near Senso-ji, laughing and chatting happily like children.
Mitsuri bought sakura mochi and fed it to Akira, and Akira smiled as he placed a pretty hairpin in Mitsuri's hair.
Their peaceful and happy appearance painfully stabbed the hearts of the surveilling members.
"I also… dreamed of such ordinary happiness…."
The Silver-ranked member Goto let out a small sigh. He was someone who had lost all his family to demons and joined the Demon Slayer Corps.
"Tch, enviable…. Such things are a luxury for us. As long as demons exist, there is no peace."
The Bronze-ranked member grumbled, but his eyes were also wavering.
They were all people who had lost loved ones and lived solely with vengeance and a sense of duty.
Therefore, Akira and Mitsuri's happy appearance reminded them of something precious they had lost and could never regain.
Meanwhile, on the rooftop of a tall building near the Akatsuki Trading Company main store.
There was a figure lying prone, facing the harsh winter wind. It was Obanai Iguro.
He wore a hood deeply pulled down to hide his heterochromatic eyes, and was persistently staring through a telescope at the fifth-floor president's office window of the company building.
'That female demon… she's still there.'
Inside the president's office, Kumohime in a gorgeous kimono was left alone.
She sat at the president's antique desk, resting her chin and yawning as if bored, then opened a thick foreign book and began wrestling with it.
'What is she reading? Is it a cipher?'
Obanai maximized the telescope's magnification to check the book cover.
"...Studying English?"
Obanai let out a hollow laugh in absurdity. He couldn't read English, but he could tell it looked like English.
'Does a demon that eats people need to study human language so diligently? Or is this also an act for thorough disguise?'
Kumohime frowned deeply while taking notes with a fountain pen, and ruffled her hair while flipping through a dictionary.
It was unmistakably the appearance of a cram school student.
She was struggling with troublesome foreign language to help Akira's business expansion.
Even though this level of position was satisfying enough, she wanted to do even better.
Since she was living an eternal life, she might as well prove to be a competent subordinate to him, the true king of demons, and aim for a higher executive position.
Around the time about an hour had passed.
Kumohime, who had her nose buried in the book, began nodding off sleepily.
It was a collaboration of warm sunlight, the heater's warmth, and boring English grammar.
Creak~!
Suddenly, the heavy door of the president's office swung open.
"Eek?!"
Kumohime, who had dozed off momentarily, screamed in surprise with a strange shriek.
The fountain pen she was holding flew through the air and rolled on the floor, and she jumped up from the chair as if startled.
"M-M-Master! Y-You're here!"
She hurriedly adjusted her clothes and bowed deeply as if about to prostrate on the floor.
The image of a cold executive was gone, and she looked like a maid frightened of being scolded by her master.
Through the door entered Akira and Mitsuri, who had returned from their date.
"Akira-san! The sakura mochi we ate earlier was really delicious, right? Goldfish scooping was so fun too!"
Mitsuri clung to Akira's arm as if hanging on it, chattering away.
In both her hands were small souvenirs bought from the streets.
"Yes. I didn't know you were so good at scooping goldfish. Thanks to you, it was enjoyable, Mitsuri."
Akira smiled affectionately as he touched the hairpin in Mitsuri's hair.
The figure of the cold businessman who had just sealed a deal was gone, replaced by the face of a loving husband in love.
"Welcome back, President. And… Madam."
Kumohime greeted with a voice that had barely calmed down, sweating cold sweat.
Watching that scene through the telescope, Obanai's eyes shone sharply.
'Nagao Akira. And that beautiful woman with cherry blossom-colored hair…. Are those two married? Clearly, he said the woman from the Kanroji family was his wife.'
Obanai instinctively fixed his gaze on Mitsuri, who had newly appeared. Kaburamaru coiled around his neck reacted slightly.
'That woman too… something feels off. She doesn't seem human. But….'
Just like with Akira, no disgusting demon smell characteristic of demons was felt from Mitsuri.
Instead, a bright and pure energy overflowed like sunlight.
Originally, Mitsuri became a demon by receiving Akira's dense blood, so she was fundamentally different from ordinary demons. Even compared to Kumohime.
'The ones gathered here… each one is suspicious. A demon performing perfect human acting, a presumed demon without demon energy, and the enigmatic president who commands them….'
Obanai alternated his gaze among the three people laughing heartily inside the president's office, sharpening his suspicious eyes even more.
'This disgusting theatrical stage… I will definitely smash it.'